Mark Robinson’s top campaign staff in NC governor’s race resign in wake of scandal
Multiple people leading Republican Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign staff have resigned following a CNN report about vulgar and racist posts made years ago on a pornography website.
Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, denies the allegations. His campaign announced the departures in a news release Sunday evening.
Those leaving include:
▪ Conrad Pogorzelski III, who was Robinson’s general consultant and senior advisor. He has been known as the main person behind Robinson’s campaign.
▪ Chris Rodriguez, Robinson’s campaign manager,
▪ Heather Whillier, Robinson’s finance director,
▪ Jason Rizk, deputy campaign manager.
In a statement, Robinson said he appreciated “the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavors. I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days.”
Robinson did not address the scandal in the statement.
The N&O has learned that Patrick Riley, Robinson’s director of operations, also resigned.
WUNC also reported Riley’s departure, as well as political directors John Kontoulas and Jackson Lohrer, saying that leaves just two campaign spokespeople and a bodyguard.
Campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan confirmed to The N&O Sunday night that he is still on staff, and did not respond to a question about who else left beyond those listed in the news release.
Fallout from CNN report
Robinson easily won the Republican gubernatorial primary and faces Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein in the general election.
Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Robinson and publicly supported him at events, plus invited him to visit his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in December.
But the fallout from Thursday’s CNN story was almost immediate, with fellow Republicans calling for Robinson to offer evidence that the allegations weren’t true, with others calling for him to end his campaign.
Robinson didn’t attend former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Wilmington on Saturday, and Trump didn’t mention him during the event, The News & Observer previously reported.
Robinson also has been endorsed by top Republicans in North Carolina, including Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore.
Republicans have been distancing themselves from Robinson since the CNN report, which showed a series of comments allegedly made by Robinson several years ago before he entered public office. They include Robinson describing himself as a “Black Nazi,” sexuality explicit comments, racial slurs about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and saying that slavery “was not bad” and he would buy enslaved people if they brought it back.
Robinson continues to deny that he wrote the posts.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Budd told The N&O on Thursday that the “comments reported in the article are disgusting. Mark Robinson says they are not from him. He needs to prove that to the voters.”
Robinson’s campaign continues
Robinson’s statement on Sunday said that his campaign “will continue to focus on the substantive issues at stake in this election: building an economy that grows from Murphy to Manteo; cutting taxes and eliminating unnecessary red-tape; removing politics out of our classrooms; and cracking down on violent crime and dangerous drugs.”
Robinson made a campaign appearance at a race in Fayetteville on Saturday night, hours after the Trump rally.
He has two campaign events on Monday, in Wilkesboro and Boone.
The campaign says that new staff will be hired, however Election Day is Nov. 5 — just over six weeks away.
“Polls have consistently underestimated Republican support in North Carolina for several cycles now and with a large portion of the electorate still undecided as we continue to ramp up our efforts across the state, I am confident our campaign remains in a strong position to make our case to the voters and win on Nov. 5,” Robinson said.
Speaking to the crowd at the Fayetteville Motor Speedway on Saturday night, Robinson said he’ll “focus on the issues that you are concerned with while everybody else wants to focus on the garbage and the trash.”
He had been down in several polls against Stein before the scandal broke. Robinson has long been known for controversial, insulting statements including about women, teachers and LGBTQ+ people. He has changed his stance on abortion multiple times, and wants it more restrictive than the Republican-written current abortion law, though he and his now-wife had an abortion 30 years ago.
Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell told The N&O on Thursday that the CNN report about Robinson was “not a shock” to him.
Folwell, a longtime elected official who lost to Robinson in the primary, said that “it seems like anyone who’s ever come in contact with him has been fleeced. And this is just the latest example of the taxpayers and the donors getting fleeced.”
“His consultants, who have made hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars off him, are laughing all the way to the bank,” Folwell said.
DC correspondent Danielle Battaglia contributed.
This story was originally published September 22, 2024 at 6:49 PM.
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